75 cl. bottle sampled. Reddish, rhubarb amber, little to no head. Smell is grapefruit, acetone, bitter herbs, oddly bitter, almost strawberry,… prob. some months old but who knows how an IIPA of this ABV behaves. Taste is bitter alcoholic, herbal, boozy pine, light earthly, very bitter spices, boozy, very burning nature, some strawberry,… Very easy body although hard to drink due to the booze,… Very interesting and fine stuff, although not too easy.

Purchased a bottle from the brewery after a field trip to St. Bernardus, Westvleteren....I finished up at the brewery and purchased a bottle after Urbain was kind enough to share with us.

Capped 750ml that boasts a 12% abv and 500 ibus, and 3 months in a Wild Turkey Barrel. Urbain claimed he used 40 lbs of American hops in a 10 barrel batch.

A: Pours like a big, American IPA. Orange-y with golden highlights. Decent head retention (mostly white). A few particles dancing around, but not cloudy or full of sediment.

N: Big American hops in the nose. Juicy, fruity citrus (whole variety) and a bit of tropical fruit. After the hop-forward part of it there's a hint of must and a bit of booze, but not as much as you think. Just a bit of bourbon, a hint of oak. Smells fruity and sweet.

T: Initial hit is sweetness, and it feels like it comes from the hops and the malt as well. Oily, resiny, a bit slick. The hops are big, bright and remain juicy. The massive hops balances out the massive booze oddly enough, and you get a bit of oak and vanilla in the finish. Nothing overly "sharp" or palate wrecking at first notice. Like I said, the bourbon is in the finish, and you're left with a bit of dryness. Fantastic that even with a beer this big, the hops and malt/booze are equal partners. Nothing ever "smacks you in the face." It's full but not overly aggressive.

M: Oily and slick. Every bit of "heavy" but never overwhelming. Your palate stays in tact most of the way.

O: Even at 16%, this still drinks like a big IPA, and not a "barleywine." Doesn't come off too aggressive, and makes you feel like it's full, as opposed to too sharp. While "subtle" is the wrong word to use here, I think it'd be hard to make this beer any less aggressive and any more subtle. Great that there aren't really any overwhelming sharp edges.